Dead lever guide



Jun 26, 1962 R. E. CALE DEAD LEVER GUIDE 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Oct, 4, 1961 INVENTOR.

QOLA/VD 5. $445 fimwwmm 47' 7' GENE Y5 June 26, 1962 R. E. CALE 3,040,840

DEAD LEVER GUIDE Filed 001;. 4, 1961 2 SheecsSheet 2 I I! l I Tr: INVENTOR. w @014/1/0 5.0145

BY X LI L g mm mw United States This invention relates to railway car brake rigging, and more particularly to the guides to which the upper ends of the dead levers are pivotally connected.

In railway car brake rigging the dead lever does not extend vertically, but is inclined lengthwise at about a 45 angle. The upper end of the dead lever is pivotally connected to one end of a link that is called a guide, and the other end of the guide is pivotally connected to a lug projecting from one side of the truck bolster. The lug is inclined transversely to the same extent as the dead lever, so it follows that the guide also is inclined laterally or transversely. The guide straddles the lug and the upper end of the dead lever, to which it is connected by pivot pins. As the brake beams are suspended from the side frames of the car truck, their position relative to the track is more or less fixed, but the bolster is supported on springs and therefore moves up and down while the train is in motion. That causes the dead lever guide to pivot at its opposite ends, but as the pivot pins are inclined, the vertical force exerted against the guide tends to cause it to cant, which causes the edges of the pin holes in a onepiece guide to cut into the pins and to wear. The guide also binds on the lug and dead lever and thereby interferes with free operation of the brake rigging. On the other hand, if the guide were formed from separate parallel bars, one bar could move lengthwise relative to the other as they pivot and thereby reduce the wear and cutting just mentioned. However, another problem then would arise, because the lower bar would rest on the cotter keys that extend through the pivot pins to hold it in place, and within a comparatively short time the cotter keys would be worn away and the lower bar would drop off.

It is among the objects of this invention to provide a dead lever guide, which is formed from parallel independent bars, but which does not depend upon cotter keys in the pivot pins to hold the lower bar in place, which does not bind, and which does not wear those keys.

In accordance with this invention, a pair of spaced parallel bars are provided at one end with aligned holes for receiving a pivot pin, by which the bars are connected to the opposite sides of a transversely inclined bolster lug. The bars at their opposite end likewise have pin-receiving holes therethrough for pivotally connecting the bars to the opposite sides of a longitudinally inclined brake lever. The central parts of the bars have interengaging hook portions between them, by means of which the lower bar is supported from the upper one so that it will not have to rest on the cotter keys extending through the lower ends of the pivot pins.

The preferred embodiment of the invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a fragmentary cross section through brake rigging showing my dead lever guide in use;

FIG. 2 is an end View, taken on the line 11-11 of FIG. 1, showing the outer end of the guide;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged bottom view of the guide, taken on the line IIL-III of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a central cross section of the guide, taken on the line IV-IV of FIG. 3; and

FIG. 5 is a perspective View of one of the bars forming the dead lever guide.

Referring to FIG. 1 of the drawings, a pair of brake beams 1, supported in a conventional manner from the ice side frames of a car truck (not shown), are operated by a live lever 2 and a dead lever 3 pivotally connected to them. A short distance above the beams the two levers are pivotally connected by a connecting rod 4 extending through an opening in the truck bolster. The brakes are applied by swinging the upper end of the live lever toward the bolster by means of a brake rod 5 connected to a brake cylinder (not shown). The upper end of the dead lever is held by a guide 6 projecting in the usual way from the adjacent side of the bolster. Both the dead lever and the bolster lug 7 to which the guide is connected are inclined lengthwise of the bolster at an angle in the neighborhood of about 45. The guide is held in place by inclined pivot pins 8 and 9 extending through its opposite ends. The pins are locked in place by cotter keys 10 extending through their lower ends, as shown in FIGS. 2, 3 and 4.

In accordance with this invention, the dead lever guide 6 is made in two independently movable parts, which preferably are identical. As shown in FIG. 5, each part of the guide is a link, preferably in the form of a straight bar 12 provided with enlarged ends, through which extend the holes 13 that receive the pivot pins 8 and 9. One bar engages the upper side of bolster lug 7 and the dead lever, and the other bar is below them. Since there is no connection between the bars to prevent one of them from moving lengthwise somewhat relative to the other when the bolster moves up and down and tilts the bars lengthwise, the edges of the pin holes will not be forced against the pins as tightly as if the bars were rigidly joined. This is because the thickness of each bar at the pin is very much less than the thickness of a one-piece guide. Reduction of wear is a reason for making the guide from the two independent bars. Another reason is that this guide will not bind and interfere with brake operation.

Another feature of this invention is that in spite of the dead lever guide being made from two ditferent bars, the cotter keys 10 and the pivot pins are not depended on to support the lower bar and hold it up on the pins. Accordingly, the central parts of the bars are provided with hook portions that extend toward each other and interlock so that the lower bar is carried by the upper bar and need not even touch the cotter keys. The hook portions are slidable relative to each other lengthwise of the bars. Consequently, the lower bar does not wear the keys, and yet it is free to move lengthwise relative to the upper bar when the guide is tilted. Preferably, the hook portions are formed by U-shape webs 14 extending lengthwise of the bars and integral therewith, as shown in FIGS. 3, 4 and 5. The outer edge portions of the webs overlap and engage each other in a plane that is transverse to the axes of the pivot pins, as shown in FIG. 4. When the upper bar is in operative inclined position, its web extends downward from the lower part of the bar and then curves towards the other bar and then extends upward in a flat plane at the same inclination as the bars. The other bar is made the same way, but it is inverted so that the web extends upward, then curves over the outer edge of the other web and then extends down into the space between that web and the adjoining bar. The relatively long webs provide considerable contact area between the two bars, resulting in negligible wear of one against the other. Although once the pivot pins have been inserted, the bars cannot be disconnected from each other, holding of the bars together before the pins are inserted can be facilitated by providing the outer edge of each web 14 with a longitudinal rib 15 that projects toward the other bar, and by providing each bar with a longitudinal rib l6 overlapping the web nib of the adjacent bar, whereby the bars have to be moved lengthwise relative to each other to assemble them.

According to the provisions of the patent statutes, I

have explained the principle of my invention and have illustrated and described what I now consider to represent its best embodiment. However, I desire to have it under stood that, within the scope of the appended claims, tr e invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifica'hy illustrated and described.

I claim:

1. A brane rigging dead lever guide comprising a pair of spaced parallel bars independently movable relative to each other provided at one end with aligned pin-receiving holes for pivotally connecting the bars to the opposite sides of a transversely inclined bolster lug, the bars at their opposite end having aligned pin-receiving holes therethrough for pivotally connecting the bars to the opposite sides of a longitudinally inclined brake lever, and the central parts of the bars having interengaging hoo k portions between them to limit spreading apart of the bars.

2. A brake rigging dead lever guide comprising a pair of spaced parallel bars independently movable relative to each other provided at one end with aligned pin-receiving holes for pivotally connecting the bars to the opposite sides of a transversely inclined bolster lug, the bars at their opposite end having aligned pin-receiving holes therethrough for pivotally connecting the bars to the opposite sides of a longitudinally inclined brake lever, and the central parts of the bars having interengaging hook portions between them to limit spreading apart of the bars, said hook portions being slidable relative to each other lengthwise of the guide.

3. A brake rigging dead lever guide comprising a pair of spaced parallel bars independently movable relative to each other provided at one end with aligned pin-receiving holes for pivotally connecting the bars to the opposite sides of a transversely inclined bolster lug, the bars at their opposite end having aligned pin-receiving holes therethrough for pivotally connecting the bars to the opposite sides of a longitudinally inclined brake lever, and the central parts of the bars having relatively movable interengaging U-shape webs between them to limit spreading apart of the bars.

4. A brake rigging dead lever guide comprising a pair of spaced parallel bars independently movable relative to each other provided at one end with aligned pin-receiving holes for pivotally connecting the bars to the opposite sides of a transversely inclined bolster lug, the bars at their opposite end having aligned pin-receiving holes therethrough for pivotally connecting the bars to the opposite sides of a longitudinally inclined brake lever, and the central part of each bar having a web projecting laterally toward the other bar, the outer edge portions of the webs engaging and overlapping each other in a plane transverse to the axes of said holes to limit spreading apart of the bars.

5. A brake rigging dead lever guide comprising a pair of spaced parallel bars independently movable relative to each other provided at one end with aligned pin-receiving holes for pivotally connecting the bars to the opposite sides of a transversely inclined bolster lug, the bars at their opposite end having aligned pin-receiving holes therethrough for pivotally connecting the bars to the opposite sides of a longitudinally inclined brake lever, and the central parts of the bars having interengagiug U-shape webs between them to limit spreading apart of the bars, the outer edge of each web being provided with a longitudinal rib projecting toward the other bar, and each bar being provided with a longitudinal rib overlapping the adjacent web rib.

6. The combination with a transversely inclined railroad car truck bolster lug and a longitudinally inclined brake lever, of a dead lever guide straddling said lug and lever and comprising a pair of spaced parallel bars independently movable relative to each other provided at their opposite ends with aligned holes, inclined pivot pins extending through said holes and pivoting the bars to the lug and lever, each bar having a laterally extending hook portion projecting into the hook portion of the other bar to support one bar from the other bar, and cotter pins extending through the lower ends of said pivot pins and spaced from the lower bar.

References Qited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,820,633 Sampson Aug. 25, 1931 1,926,782 McDonald Sept. 12, 1933 2,093,796 Baselt Sept. 21, 1937 2,096,067 Schaeifer Oct. 19, 1937 2,815,094 Simanek et al. Dec. 3, 1957 

